Work on overhead traffic signs will require lane closures at several New Castle County locations beginning today, the Delaware Department of Transportation says.

All of the closures will be between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., weather permitting:

Today

• Del. 72 and Del. 273 (the panel for DE 2B/273 westbound was replaced in 2004)

Tuesday

• James Street and Christian Street in Newport

• James Street and Boxwood Road (these were installed in the 1997 resigning/resurfacing project of Delaware 141!)

Wednesday

• Del. 62 and Kiamensi Road, Belvedere (which is nothing more than a subdivision)

• Centerville Road at Walmart (also installed in 1997 as part of the DE 141 project)

Thursday

• Del. 141 (& U.S. 202) southbound at Exit 1B/Del. 13 (U.S. 13) south ramp (these were installed during the 2004 Basin Road project)

One lane will remain open for traffic at all times.

I’m familiar with everyone of those locations (see links above). Sign crews will again replace the older rounded-edge signs with the new corrugated sharp-edge signs that will display the exact same information. The signs in Newport will continue to acknowledge Delaware 41, a route that has not traveled through Newport since the 1970s for instance.

What is for me an annual rant, here’s a few other examples of recent carbon copying’s that should have been updated or are a waste money wise:

This sign was installed in 1997 when the new alignment of Delaware 273 opened. Posted on Salem Church Road ahead of its end/signalized intersection with the state route, the sign erroneously signs the turn-lane onto Delaware 273 east as “TO DE 273 I-95″ when it should display “DE 273 East to I-95″.

11 years later, the signs above showed their age (just kidding) and were carbon copied to the new sharp-edged sign type. The light assemblies were removed and the signs were carbon copied and continue to show the same error for the eastbound ramp. All Delaware 4 signs at this junction also display the same error “TO DE 273″ instead of “DE 273 east”. Our tax dollars at work!

Another favorite of mine, this sign was adjusted in 2000 during the complete closure of Interstate 95 northbound, to direct motorists to Wilmington’s budding Riverfront Attractions. Unfortunately noone remembered to remove the attractions placard once construction was complete.

As if leaving the placard was bad enough through the 2000s, sign crews carbon copied the entire assembly in 2008, including the placard! The actual riverfront attractions are located next to Interstate 95, easily accessible from Exit 6 along northbound. The placard on Interstate 495 was added during 2000 because all through traffic was redirected onto the bypass as the much of Interstate 95 northbound was closed for three whole months. What makes this placard a bad idea, is that Delaware 9A ends at U.S. 13 nearby in one of Wilmington’s more blighted and crime-ridden areas, not the gateway to the river that chamber of commerce officials likely envision. U.S. 13 is generally a local through route and tourists bound for the attractions are better off taking U.S. 13 Business north from Exit 1 to the riverfront, but signs never reflected that.

These signs were installed between 2004 and 2007 along Interstate 95 northbound, to carbon copy the ones that preceded them. U.S. 202 has traveled southward with Delaware 141 to U.S. 13/40 since 1984, yet signs have never been updated to reflect this realignment.

As part of the 2007-08 five-laning project of Interstate 95, the sign bridge above was replaced with a new assembly featuring Clearview. Signs installed by 2007 were not retained, and instead new overheads were carbon copied, again omitting U.S. 202 from the Exit 5A panel. How much does each panel cost and how much of the DelDOT budget is directed toward sign replacements?

A new overhead features Clearview font for the destinations and cardinal directions, but Highway Gothic for the “Exit Only” placard and state route shields. Photo taken June 27, 2008 by I.C. Ligget.

Now travelers heading north from Wilmington via Concord Avenue (Delaware 202) remain segregated from merging traffic from Interstate 95 until after the Foulk Road (new Delaware 141 and Delaware 261) off-ramp. Additonally the Augustine Cutoff intersection is limited to just two movements now, from Delaware 202 north to it and from it to U.S. 202 south. These projects precede work at the Interstate 95 interchange that will eliminate the southbound loop ramp to Delaware 202 by adding a left-hand movement from the northbound ramp to Concord Avenue south. Work on the ramp conversion is already underway.
New overheads are up along the U.S. 202 northbound off-ramp from Interstate 95, including a set of diagrammaticals for the Foulk Road off-ramp. Additionally the one-lane directional ramp from northbound now widens to two lanes before joining Concord Pike, a new change from the original design.

Southbound overheads were completely replaced now and unfortunately omit U.S. 202 southbound’s merge onto Interstate 95 south. Signs just indicate Interstate 95 south, and a token U.S. 202 south arrow shield lies just ahead of the ramp. If U.S. 202′s merge with Interstate 95 is being downplayed, why not truncate it back to this interchange or to the U.S. 13 Business intersection at Market Street?

I checked just south of the Interstate 95 southbound off-ramp and the end U.S. 202/begin Delaware 202 assembly is still there. Which leads me to my next observation, the pull-through panels along Concord Pike south that now simply display “Wilmington”. No mention of Delaware 202 or Concord Avenue, just the control city. This is sort of a disservice to area motorists who may be destined to downtown or other parts of the city, yet the sign does not indicate anything other than the city. Concord Avenue does provide a way to downtown via Baynard Boulevard, but it is not a commercial route and if you are not familiar with the area, you may get lost and unfortunately the adjoining neighborhoods at Market Street are home to drive by shootings and other crime. If Delaware 202 is so confusing, then why not choose a new number or decommission it? What other instance does a U.S. highway split with its old route that carries the same number anyway?

For additional photos see:

U.S. 202 Delaware @ AARoads

Delaware 202 @ AARoads

Blue Ball @ AARoads

Also I hate to report it, but Interstate 95 signs for the Delaware 1 & 7 interchange were carbon copied and therefore still make no mentioning of Dover! They did add the DelDOT beach chair logo, which is supposed to convey to motorists that the road connects with the Delaware beaches. Otherwise you will still think that the 51-mile freeway only connects to “Christiana Mall Road”, which should be referenced on auxiliary signs, since Christiana and Mall Road are separate destinations…

Lastly, Delaware has uploaded portions of its Manual of Uniform Traffic Devices. Much to my surprise, the document makes no reference to the use of MUST EXIT on overhead guide signs! Even more surprising are that the rules on freeway guide signs appear to be decent, with rules against sign clutter and what styles to use. Unfortunately in the field, the sign gluttoning continues and whats with every road now being signed as an evacuation route anyway? For what are we evacuating? Hurricanes, the Salem Nuclear Power plant, insect swarms? I asked one of my best friends if he has ever evacuated in 33 years of living here and he said no. So why do we now need these signs posted on every state road in northern Delaware?

Delaware 1 & 7 northbound at the Mall Road overpass, south of the interchange with Interstate 95. One of the aforementioned dirt mounds rises in the background (left of the right-hand side bridge supports).

Earlier this year DelDOT began a project that involves the widening of Interstate 95 through Christina Marsh. Presently the turnpike carries four lanes per direction with full inside and outside shoulders. The project is the first step taken by the state to undo years of growing congestion on the busy Interstate corridor.

The ten-laning project, if you will, will see the expansion of the freeway outward through the wetlands area; no expansion can occur within the inside lanes as a jersey barrier represents the median. Interstate 95 will carry ten lanes between Delaware 1 & 7 and the split with Interstate 295 upon completion. The new lanes will directly tie into the existing full-cloverleaf interchange between the SR 1 Turnpike and Delaware Turnpike. Completion is anticipated in 2010.

When work completes through the marsh, DelDOT hopes to break ground on a project to upgrade the failing cloverleaf interchange between Interstate 95 and Delaware 1 & 7. This much needed project has origins in the early 1990s!

Funding woes have long been an issue beleaguering the Delaware Department of Transportation. No matter how many toll increases or other fee additions come into existence, the state continues to operate at a major shortfall. An August 13, 1992 News Journal (Wilmington, DE) article entitled “Big road jobs delayed” references a funding shortage that pushed the Interstate 95/Delaware 1 & 7 interchange back from 1995-96 to 1996-97. Ten years later, no work has yet started!

A look at the revamped DelDOT website and its SR7/I-95 project website now indicates a four-year construction project that may begin in 2011, when funding becomes available. Additionally the site states “Increasing traffic volumes and development south of SR 1 has led to deteriorating levels of service within the area of Christiana Mall and the I-95/SR 1 Interchange. While morning and evening peaks continue to struggle, this area also has deteriorating traffic conditions at many other times of the day and often throughout weekends. On most days many of the ramps experience levels of service (LOS) F.” An increase of Interstate 95 tolls from $3.00 to $4.00 per passenger vehicle on October 1, 2007 was passed to help cover the funding, but that money pays for projects throughout the state, not just those associated with Interstate 95.

So with something that is obvious to anyone who drives the interchange on a daily basis, or even once or twice a month, there is a problem and there has been one for 15 years! I find a 19-year delay between the arrival of dirt within the loop ramps and bulldozers to flatten it to be just mind-blowing. Factor in a four-year construction project, and its 2015 when any relief is given to the 250,000 plus motorists that use the junction.

According to 2006 traffic counts, 182,853 vehicles a day traveled Interstate 95 between Delaware 1 & 7 and Interstate 295. 76,784 motorists utilized Delaware 1 between Delaware 273 and Interstate 95.

If matters were not worse, developers plan on expanding the burgeoning Christiana Mall commericial district by another  900,000 square feet in the form of the Christiana Fashion Center. Just west of the area, between Delaware 7 and 273, an additional 600,000 square feet of new commercial development is also proposed. With Delaware not levying sales tax, shoppers will add to the fray of an already awful situation on the roads at Interstate 95 and Delaware 1. Who wants to bet that the retail development will be completed before the interchange upgrade?

Additional sources:

“Christiana plan could lead to traffic jam.” The News Journal (Wilmington, DE), October 14, 2007

In the meantime, I am approximately midway through my updates to Delaware Highways that include trips to the Diamond State dating back to December of 2005. Most of the work involves replacing photos or adding new photos to the guides. However projects involving the widening of Interstate 95 are underway and the U.S. 301 toll road proposal is on the horizon too. Also the other week I created a page and added coverage on the Blue Ball construction project north of Wilmington. A partial interchange now joins U.S. 202, a relocated Delaware 141, and Delaware 261 at the former site of a signalized intersection. The new configuration is so confusing, I decided to craft a map to illustrate it. Additional updates will focus on the Dover and Milford area as well as an update to the SR 1 Turnpike guides.

The Burlington, VT focus page I created two weeks ago will be accompanied with recent and 2005 photos soon too. So that leaves this question, what areas should next be updated or new areas added?

In a related toll increase, the Delaware River & Bay Authority (DRBA) voted July 17, 2007 to increase the commercial vehicle toll on the Delaware Memorial Bridge from $3.00 to $4.00 per axle starting in January 2008. A second toll increase is expected in 2010 to pay for $300 million in future projects such as redecking the bridges. Justification of the initial tolls increases will add $11 million per year to the DRBA project. Items on their project list include $21.5 million to widen the Interstate 295 approach to the bridge including adding lanes at the U.S. 13 & 40 interchange at Farnhurst, replacing the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge, and road work on the roadway to the Cape May Lewes Ferry (also operated by the DRBA).

Interstate 295 only carries four overall lanes through the Farnhurst interchange with U.S. 13 & 40. Toll increases will pay for expansion of the freeway to six overall lanes at the directional interchange. Photo taken May 19, 2007.

What is not proposed for Delaware is the building of high-speed EZ-Pass only express or commuter lanes for Interstate 95. Robert Poole, director of transportation studies for the nonprofit Reason Foundation in California, states that Interstate 95 is not feasible for high-speed toll lanes because it has too many exits. Yet Interstate 394 in Minneapolis, a freeway shorter than the Delaware Turnpike, with four freeway to freeway interchanges, six full access interchanges, and two half interchanges, supports them efficiently. EZ Pass express lanes could easily carry through traffic without any destination in Delaware, such as those traveling between Baltimore-Washington and the New Jersey Turnpike via the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Such high-speed lanes could be constructed on an elevated viaduct, similar to Interstate 110 in Los Angeles or the Crosstown Expressway in Tampa…

Delaware Transportation Department spokesman Darrel Cole indicates that the toll increases get DelDOT one step closer to rebuilding the ailing cloverleaf interchange between Delaware 1 and Interstate 95. However changes to that interchange are years away, so his statement will not resonate with drivers until actual work begins. A widening project of Interstate 95 between Delaware 1 & 7 and the split with Interstate 295 however began this year to add one additional travel lane in each direction.

Sources:

1. “State budget raises taxes, tolls and fees.” The News Journal (Wilmington, DE), June 21, 2007.
2. “Toll Increase On Delaware Memorial Bridge.” WBOC-TV 16, July 18, 2007.
3. “Pricey stretch of I-95 about to get pricier.” The News Journal (Wilmington, DE), July 8, 2007.
4. Froehlig, Adam

Built between April 2005 and December 8, 2006, the $13 million Churchmans Road overpass spans Interstate 95 just east of its predecessor. The new bridge includes a bike path, but overall retains just two lanes with full shoulders/merge lanes (similar to the original span). Photo taken 12/23/06.

Widening of the most congested stretch of Interstate 95 between Baltimore and Philadelphia involves building an additional main line travel lane in both directions. Crews will add lanes on the outside of both carriageways, a process expected to take 1.5 years and cost $51 million according to the New Jersey firm R.E. Pierson Construction Co, the likely contractor for the work. Pierson can complete the work in much less time than two other contractors bidding on the work, but for a higher cost. DelDOT is waging time over money in their decision, a wise move given the daily congestion-related traffic jams on the stretch. At least four 11′ lanes will remain open at all times during the project.

A look at typical mid-afternoon traffic along Interstate 95 south through Christiana Marsh. The congestion occurs here because of two distinct reasons: The substandard ramps to/from Delaware 1 south of Interstate 95 at Exit 4 and the near coincidental left and right-hand merges of traffic onto Interstate 95 south from Interstate 295 south (left) and U.S. 202 & Delaware 141 (right). Photo taken 12/23/06.

According to 2005 traffic counts conducted by DelDOT, 189,485 vehicles a day traveled along Interstate 95 between Delaware 1 & 7 and the split with Interstate 295. Interstate 95 was lasted widened between Newark and Wilmington during the 1980s, and today’s News Journal article indicates 123,000 vehicles per day traveled on the same stretch of freeway in 1990. So why such a long wait in between expansion projects given the dramatic increase in traffic?

All of this ties into the overall improvement of Interstate 95 formally announced December 2, 2003, but in the works since the early 1990s. Improvement projects not only involve the widening of Interstate 95 through Christiana Marsh, but also a significant improvement to the antiquated Exit 4 (Delaware 1 & 7) interchange. Extreme growth of suburban areas along the U.S. 40 corridor between Bear and Glasgow, the U.S. 301 corridor between Glasgow and Middletown, and points south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal have placed an extreme duress on both the Delaware 1 freeway and full-cloverleaf interchange between Interstate 95 and Delaware 1 & 7. Issues with the substandard interchange between Interstate 95 and the Delaware 1 freeway were discussed over 15 years ago, yet no improvements were made (outside of structurally repairing the aging overpasses of Interstate 95 over Delaware 1 & 7 below during 1997).

A common traffic standstill at the Delaware 1 & 7 northbound off-ramp to Interstate 95 north (Exit 165B). Ramps emanating from the adjacent Christiana Mall complicate matters even more with multiple on-ramps. This problem has grown tremendously since 1997 and back-ups have been known to stem as far south as the Delaware 273 interchange. Photo taken 12/23/06.

The August 13, 1992 News Journal article “Big Road Projects Delayed” cites “Interstate 95′s new Delaware 7 interchange – Delayed one year, to 1996-97″ as one of the projects delayed or removed due to a budget problem of the time. The delay was due to early fallacies involving moving money from the Transportation Trust Fund to the General Fund without securing its replenishment, issues that planted the seeds for the current Deldot fiscal crisis. Ten years in the future, not one shovel of dirt has yet turned to improve the junction, and it appears unlikely that that statement will be rendered untrue until at least 2010, barring more delays related to the ongoing DelDOT fiscal crisis.

When the widening is completed, upgrading of the Delaware 1 & Interstate 95 interchange will commence. Thus far a high-speed flyover is planned from I-95 south to Delaware 1 south and the Delaware 1 north to I-95 northbound ramp will be expanded to two lanes. I do not believe this is enough to solve the problems at this major freeway junction, as other loop ramps and weaving traffic patterns will remain if not addressed by either collector/distributor lanes or additional high-speed ramps.

Further in the future are planned upgrades of Exits 1 (Delaware 896), 3 (Delaware 273), and 5A/B (U.S. 202 & Delaware 141). Similar issues exist there and no interchange upgrades have occurred since the 1980s.

Additional Sources

“Churchmans Road bridge over I-95 completed.” The News Journal, December 8, 2006.

So much for the new “Delaware 141 Spur” being an actual spur. Instead the “Spur” is a relocated Delaware 141 mainline. Why is it so difficult to get the nomenclature right in the state of Delaware? If the road was an actual spur, it would not be considered the Delaware 141 mainline, especially with Delaware 141 North facing South at its end. But that is exactly how it is, despite little green street signs displaying “RT 141 Spur”. I investigated the new “interchange” with U.S. 202 and Delaware 261 on December 23 to see the results of several years of road work.

Delaware 141 now travels southeast from the intersection of Children’s Drive and Powder Mill Road over the former Rockland Road alignment to meet U.S. 202 and Delaware 261 (Foulk Road) at the new partial-interchange. Delaware 141 northbound faces southbound and enters the junction with U.S. 202 in this picture. Interests to U.S. 202 north and south are now advised to take Delaware 141 north to this interchange, rather than remaining on Powder Mill Road east. Powder Mill Road is now simply signed as “nothing”, but it still is a better way to reach U.S. 202 north from Delaware 141 north in lieu of this southward detour. I don’t get why signs do not split interests to U.S. 202 north and south between the two roadways, but perhaps it was at the request of Astra-Zenica, which owns the land both north and south of Powder Mill Road.

Delaware 141 passes underneath U.S. 202 and ascends to the intersection with Weldon Road. At the traffic light, Delaware 141 ends and Delaware 261 begins and travels northward along Foulk Road, its original alignment. So the two state highways end at Weldon Road, with Weldon Road serving movements to U.S. 202 north from Foulk Road south and Weldon Road west. There are two end signs for Delaware 141 and a new end sign for Delaware 261 south as well.

Children’s Drive was the connector between Delaware 141 (Powder Mill Road) and Rockland Road. Now the road feeds into Delaware 141′s departure from Powder Mill Road onto “RT 141 Spur”. Looking northeastward at that intersection, the original Delaware 141 curved from the left to the right through the Astra Zeneca Campus. Now Powder Mill Road drivers must turn at a pair of turn signals to continue to U.S. 202 at Murphy Road. All others default onto “RT 141 Spur” south to its junction with U.S. 202 near Foulk Road.

Now onto some signing nonsense…

With the $2.7-billion budget shortfall, DelDOT should be cost cutting wherever they can. Part of the reasons for their budget woes is that money for general operating costs comes directly from the budget, which in most states is allocated to highway or mass transit projects, not for standard costs such as paying employee salaries.

I was quite amazed to note a large number of sign replacements throughout northern New Castle County on both area state highways and Interstate 95. Not only are new signs installed everywhere, but the signs installed display exactly the same thing that the editions in which they replaced did! I believe DelDOT was quoted as stating that each sign costs between $25,000 to $50,000 each in 1997, and that cost most certainly has gone up since that time. So with that kind of expenditure, was it necessary to replace 80% of the guide signs along Interstate 95 north from Delaware 141 to U.S. 202 given the fiscal crisis? On top of that, was it justified in doing so given that the new signs display the same information as the 1980s-era signs, and in certain cases, the 1960-era signs?! The original signs were in good shape given their age, so that in and of itself does not justify a replacing. But the information on the signs however did, given that many still use the term “Must Exit” when they should display “Exit Only”. Other signs along Interstate 95 still do not properly reflect the 1984-realignment of U.S. 202 from Wilmington surface streets to the freeway itself. You would think that the new signs would address this issue as well, but that is not the case, as contractors simply placed new signs with the same exact information as the old ones. Furthermore, two 1960s-era signs replaced in 1997 were replaced yet again, and the one for Delaware 4/Exit 6 still references Fourth Street! This project further fuels my doubts as to the efficiency of DelDOT and given their fiscal crisis, continues to justify why the government agency is in trouble.

Let’s take a look:

I took a photo of this same scene last December to show the growing skyline. Much to my amazement, a new high-rise appears in the South Bridge section of Wilmington to the right. Take note of the signs displayed here and compare them to the ones photographed last year. Asides Martin Luther being abbreviated to M.L. and the exit tab being shifted to the right, the signs display the same information as before. “Must Exit” was not properly changed to “Exit Only”, and all state highway and U.S. 202 shields were unfortunately replaced with narrower “Series C” Highway Gothic numbers.

Here’s another sign change on Interstate 95 northbound at the end of the viaduct portion above 4th Street. Note the “Right Lane Must Exit” which should simply display “Exit Only” and the series C font in “52″. Also note that “Harvey Road – 5″ was dropped from the “upcoming exits sign” when comparing with the previous set of signs. Signs for Exit 7 should be changed to reflect 9th Street and Delaware 52/Delaware Avenue. Additionally the upcoming exit signs throughout Interstate 95 in Delaware should be consistent with those used in the rest of the country, such as this sign in Atlanta or as this sign near St. Louis.

In addition to the sign replacement projects, look at this change with amazement! All signs for Interstate 95 & U.S. 202 north at the split with Interstate 495 (unsigned Exit 5D) now include “14 FT Clearance”. I shook my head at this, but do realize why DelDOT slapped that extra bit of signing up there. Twice in 2005, the 10th Street overpass over Interstate 95 in Wilmington was struck by tractor trailers exceeding the maximum height clearance. The National standard of bridge heights on Interstate highways is 16′, but for one reason or another, the 10th Street overpass was built two feet lower. Instead of simply directing vehicles exceeding the height restriction onto the Exit 7 off-ramp and back onto Interstate 95 north via the Adams Street on-ramp north of Delaware Avenue, DelDOT instead tells all over-height truckers to not use any of Interstate 95 west of Interstate 495! Given that I once lived next to U.S. 202 in Talleyville, I know how many trucks use U.S. 202 north into Pennsylvania from Delaware. So this clearance overhead does not address their needs in traveling to/from Pennsylvania via Interstate 95. What should instead be used are signs attached to the Exit 7 off-ramp directing vehicles exceeding the overhead clearance similar to those used at the U.S. 301 interchange in Lumberton, North Carolina where a similar overpass is substandardly low. There truckers simply exit onto the adjacent frontage road and return a short distance later via the next off-ramp. Adams Street acts as a frontage road of Interstate 95 through Wilmington.

Another bad sign replacement, this time on U.S. 13 north & U.S. 40 east at the U.S. 202 north & Delaware 141 cloverleaf interchange near New Castle. The new signs omit the down facing arrow for U.S. 202 north & Delaware 141 north. They should also reference Wilmington as U.S. 202 north in conjunction with its alignment on Interstate 95 north goes there.

A couple of other changes in the area: The new Churchman’s Road overpass is finally done, and despite me thinking that it was to be four-lanes wide, it only carries two lanes with full shoulders and a bike path. So much for almost two years of work there.

Further east, Delaware 37 and 58′s intersection is now much larger, and it also involves protected turn signals in lieu of doghouses. So much for being able to determine when its safe to turn on your own; now the traffic light makes those decisions for you. Additionally nearby were mast-arm supported traffic lights at Old Churchman’s Road and Delaware 37 (Airport Road). For one reason or another, those assemblies were replaced with span-wires. Why would DelDOT downgrade mast-arms to span-wires given the durability of mast-arms in wind storms?

 

Open fields and farmland becomes suburban sprawl on a yearly, if not monthly, basis in Middletown. The increased and unorganized development puts a strain on U.S. 301 and the other Middletown area roads (Delaware 15, 71, 299).

U.S. 301 creates a popular truck bypass route of Baltimore for commercial drivers emanating between Virginia and points south to New Jersey and points north. In addition some local motorists use the highway between Washington and the Wilmington metropolitan area. As Middletown grows in an unregulated fashion, U.S. 301 becomes increasingly congested with the addition of local commuters to the pre-existing through traffic. Factor in the fact that the highway is both four-lanes north and south of Middletown, and the situation becomes worse with impatient drivers unable to make safe passes.

Beginning in the 1960s, Delaware officials began planning a north-south freeway along the U.S. 301 corridor from Interstate 95 south to the Maryland state line. Corridors included alignments along the state line and alignments tying into the planned Pike Creek Freeway at unconstructed Exit 2 of the Delaware Turnpike. All of the previous proposals for a U.S. 301 freeway met stiff resistance and by 1995, all were shelved.

Flash forward to 2000 and the suburbanization of Middletown, and the freeway idea was reconceptualized as a toll road. The growth of previously rural southern New Castle County has put great strain on U.S. 301 and other area roads. The lack of access control on U.S. 301 also plays into the increasing congestion of the Middletown through-road network. So with all that stated, officials went to the drawing boards and presented the public with numerous options for a limited-access highway to replace the surface-road routing of U.S. 301 in Middletown. Alternatives considered even included the ‘Ridge Route’ and other options from the original 1960s and 70s freeway concepts between Summit Bridge and the Maryland state line.

Last week officials chose a preferred alternate for the new U.S. 301, which will be a tolled facility, after two years of data collecting and public input. Dubbed the green route on planning maps, new U.S. 301 will split from the existing road just north of the Maryland state line and travel along the “Ridge” alternative west of Middletown (the Ridge represents the line from which water flows west to Chesapeake Bay and east to Delaware Bay). Northwest of Middletown, new U.S. 301 turns northeast toward existing U.S. 301 at point south of Mt. Pleasant. The toll road arcs across the Whitehall property, farmland long awaiting the addition of 2,500 new homes, to its end at the SR 1 Turnpike near the Biddles Corner Toll Plaza.

In addition to the U.S. 301 toll road mainline, the green alternative includes a Super Two spur from Summit Bridge southward to U.S. 301 north of Middletown. This concept also revives another element of the 1960s/70s proposal to incorporate Summit Bridge into a U.S. 301 freeway. The Super Two toll road ties into Delaware 71 & 896 at their intersection with Delaware 15 on the south approach to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal crossing.

The News Journal ran an article on the toll road today:

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061120/NEWS/611200357/1006/NEWS

Officials say new U.S. 301 will be worth wait

Road expected to ease traffic, bring in business

Delaware’s selection last week of a preferred route for a high-speed U.S. 301 highway through southern New Castle County was a long time coming — and the road itself almost surely will take even longer to be built. The state doesn’t have the $534 million to $590 million it needs to build the bypass. Construction probably would take five years, and state officials don’t expect it to be finished for 10 years.But the eventual impact of the road already is clear to government officials, civic leaders and developers.

A new U.S. 301 route would help relieve traffic congestion in the rapidly growing area, and separate through-truck traffic from local traffic — both upfront objectives for the bypass, according to the Department of Transportation.

In the long run, the four-lane divided highway also would help absorb the big expected growth in traffic from many new subdivisions under construction or planned south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal — particularly the Village of Bayberry, a planned 2,500-home community straddling Boyds Corner Road north of Middletown.

The road, if built, also could help attract business tenants to the long-planned Scott Run Business Park, and make development more likely on the 1,800-acre Whitehall properties just south of the canal between Summit Bridge and Jamison Corner roads.

The southwest-to-northeast “green route” selected for U.S. 301 would cut a swath through the area, gobbling up almost 900 acres of farmland, homes and businesses. Twenty-seven residential and eight commercial properties would be “totally impacted” — meaning the highway would displace any homeowners or occupants.

The route also runs right through two planned subdivisions — Pleasanton and Churchtown Manor — that envision nearly 500 new homes just west of the existing U.S. 301/Del. 71, north of Marl Pit Road. New Castle County has approved Pleasanton’s preliminary plans but Churchtown Manor’s are still under review.

In an e-mail response to questions, Rick Woodin, a developer behind Churchtown Manor, a planned subdivision of about 200 homes along Cedar Lane Road, said he expects the project to move forward, even though the property would be cut into two pieces by the proposed highway.

“We believe that the new highway is sorely needed and that it will remove interstate traffic from local roadways and provide benefits in many ways,” said Woodin, who also is the driving force behind the Westtown and Parkside developments in Middletown. “We can find no fault in the study process and accept the result. … We will attempt to move forward with a modified design.”

Principals in the Pleasanton project could not be reached this week.

The chosen route also would make traveling easier from the west side of Middletown, where Woodin is moving ahead with Westtown, a planned development of commercial space and homes.

The route would snake from the Maryland state line, bend north just west of Middletown and then veer northeast, crossing U.S. 301/Del. 71 near Armstrong Corner, jumping Boyds Corner Road west of Cedar Lane Road and then linking to Del. 1 north of Biddles Corner.

The route skirts the Bayberry development to the north, but does cut into the northern portion of the planned Scott Run Business Park at Jamison Corner Road.

Brian DiSabatino, vice president of the EDiS Company, which is among the partners in the business park, said the developers favor the road, which would have an interchange near the proposed park of about 2 million square feet of office space and support buildings.

“We believe that the future of the Delaware work force is in southern New Castle County, Kent and Sussex counties,” he said. “The closer we put those jobs to the employees, the fewer roads we have to build, and the fewer emissions there are in the environment.”

The proximity to the highway will help to sell space in the park, by making it more attractive to potential tenants, DiSabatino said.

The road and the nearby interchange also would provide future Bayberry homebuyers high-speed access to Del. 1.

“I don’t think it has any effect on Bayberry, other than it’s something that’s needed to be done to help serve Bayberry and the citizens down there in general,” said Tom Prusak, a senior principal of Landmark Engineering, who is involved with Blenheim Homes’ Bayberry North development.

Prusak suggested the highway would make Bayberry more attractive to homebuyers because it would provide easy access to a highway ushering commuters to jobs in Wilmington, Philadelphia or New Jersey, just as Del. 1 did for commuters in Kent County.

Ed O’Donnell, who specializes in transportation and land use for the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware, said the route’s six interchanges will be prime points for development.

But the zoning and the county’s comprehensive land-use plan will dictate how the land is developed, he said.

“It’s not necessarily going to lead to increased development pressures and increased density,” he said.

O’Donnell, a former head planner for New Castle County, predicted a new U.S. 301 wouldn’t change southern New Castle County as profoundly as Del. 1 has — if it gets built.

“This is somewhat of an academic exercise, because they don’t have construction money,” O’Donnell said.

The almost $600 million price tag is way more than the state can handle. Already — even without that project — the state is $2.7 billion short of the money it would need to complete the projects DelDOT and state lawmakers say are needed in the next six years.

That’s one reason why DelDOT is open to considering a private-sector approach that would involve a 99-year lease of the road to a private company that would build it and recoup the investment through collection of tolls and concessions.

For now, DelDOT will hold a round of public workshops in January on its draft environmental impact statement.

DelDOT expects to finalize its selection of the route in the spring, and is awaiting approval from the Federal Highway Administration, perhaps by summer.

 

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060709/NEWS/60709005/1006

The article just says the same thing that is said all the time about Interstate 95. The road is bad, improvements are needed, but there is no money, and nothing is going to happen in the immediate future. The multimedia section however has some video from Deldot of I-95′s construction, and there’s some neat stuff in there including a sign that displays “Interstate 295 to U.S. 13 – New Jersey Wilmington” and a mileage sign that displays both Baltimore and Washington. Seeing I-295 with a control point of Wilmington is a first for me and I’ve never ever seen Washington as a control point in Delaware.
Also on the flash video are some scenes of Delaware Turnpike toll plazas which look strikingly similar to those built on the SR 1 Turnpike in the 1990s. DelDOT still uses the same bridge support design as the spans built during the 1960s for Interstate 95, and one sign in the video was still in place as of 2004, the Maryland 279 – one mile guide sign along southbound in Newark. See some screen shots below:

Speed Limit 60 sign posted along Interstate 95 southbound at Christiana Marsh

Maryland 279 sign posted near the state line, the sign is still there today.

Baltimore and Washington! mileage sign, likely posted beyond the Delaware Turnpike toll plaza at Newark.

Maryland/Delaware state line sign on Interstate 95 southbound. There is no indication of the state line today unfortunately.

Pay toll – 1 mile sign

Delaware Turnpike toll plaza, perhaps the booths near Newark.

Welcome to the Delaware Turnpike sign posted after crossing into the First State from Maryland. There’s a version of this sign along southbound today at Christiana Marsh.

Service Plaza 1 mile sign on I-95 north. There are similar shaped signs still in use today.

Guide sign for Delaware 41 south – Basin Road / New Castle. The highway shield appears to be a square, which was the style used by the First State for a period of time between circular cutouts and the standard black on white circle signs used today.

Interstate 295 to U.S. 13 guide sign posted ahead of the Interstate 95/295 split near Newport.